"CLOSETS"

A preacher friend of mine, Gene Baker, of Malakoff, Texas, gave me a great idea for this article. he suggests that we ought to take a closer look at our "Closets." They (most of them) are crammed full of stuff we have collected down through the years--stuff that we take for granted which would be riches to the rest of the world!

I well remember the houses built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These old houses had little, if any, closet space. How well I remember mamma making closet space in an old house by tacking a sheet across a corner in one of the rooms. Nails were attached to the wall therein and clothing was then hung on the nails! This was the time when detached closets were ever present. Today, these closets are antiques. They were large wooden structures with space to hang clothing and a place to put extra shoes. These portable closets were taken with the family with they moved.

From the middle of the 20th century on--Americans have worried about closet space! One of the first questions asked when looking for a home is: "What about the closet space?" Could it be that "the closet" tells us more about ourselves than we would really like to know?

Most closets are so crammed full of "stuff" that there is little room for "new stuff." We just keep on getting more and more stuff. We get upset if someone touches our stuff--though we may have not seen it for years! Our affluent society is possessed by our possessions!

Recently, I found some new clothing stuck back in my closet that my wife had purchased for me a number of years ago. I doubt if I alone in this.

Have we, perhaps unconscientiously, become a materialistic minded people, bent on getting more and more stuff? Remember how mamma told us to clean up our plates because most of the world had little to eat? I would think that most of the world has little "closet space."
Jesus warned: "How hardly shall they that have riches enter the kingdom of God" (Luke 18:24). Likewise, the apostle Paul said: "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (I Timothy 6:10).

Neither Christ, nor Paul, taught that one could not have riches in this life--what they did teach, and what every one of us needs to realize is, that there is danger attached to the material. If we are fortunate enough to be blessed with monies, or other material blessings, we ought to remember to do God's will--help others and distribute to the poor (I Timothy 6:18).

Remember who gave us our "Closets." Be grateful. Be benevolent. Always hold to God's Will. It may be that we will have to do as the Rich Young Ruler (Luke 18:18-24). He was told to sell what he had, and give to the poor, then he would have riches in heaven! It is really a matter of where we have set out hearts. We need to be very careful in this affluent society. We need to watch "our closets."

- Dan Carter